Gili Islands · Things to do

Dive centre on the harbour front on Trawangan's east side, open 08:00–20:00, running Discover Scuba half-days through Open Water, Rescue, Divemaster and technical courses, plus freediving and kids' programmes. Book a day or two ahead in high season.

Local non-profit maintaining roughly 200 Biorock reef structures around the islands, running eco-tours, reef-monitoring courses and a beach clean every Friday evening that anyone can join. The clean-ups are free and the quickest way to understand how the islands actually run.

Green and hawksbill turtles feed on the seagrass off Trawangan's east side and around Meno, shallow enough to reach swimming from the beach. Hopping boats do three or four stops in a morning; go near slack water, the current between the islands is strong.

The island is roughly 7 km around with no motor vehicles at all, so a bike is the transport; the circuit takes one to two hours with stops. The northwest stretch is deep sand and you will end up pushing — bikes rent by the day from stalls along the main strip.

The smallest and quietest of the three: a walking loop of a couple of hours, an inland salt lake, and long empty beaches. Bring cash and water — facilities are thin and the island shuts down early.